2011 MLB preview: NL East

2010 Record: 97-65; first place, National League East (lost to Giants in League Championship Series)

Manager: Charlie Manuel, seventh season

Key Additions: SP Cliff Lee, RP Jose Contreras

Key Departures: OF Jayson Werth

Season preview: The readdition of Lee during the offseason gives the Phillies four bonafide aces (Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels and Lee) in the rotation, making them the heavy favorites to win the East and perhaps represent the NL in the World Series. The departure of RF Werth may be addition by subtraction, since the onerous contract he got from Washington that takes him into his late 30s is one the already overextended Phillies won’t be bearing. His likely replacement, Domonic Brown, is a five-tool player who ranks as one of the nation’s top prospects and should benefit from hitting in a formidable lineup that also includes SS Jimmy Rollins, 2B Chase Utley, 1B Ryan Howard, LF Raul Ibanez and CF Shane Victorino. Contreras joins a talented bullpen – Ryan Madson, Dany Baez and closer Brad Lidge – that will benefit from All-Star rotation. Barring injuries or natural disaster, it’s hard to see the Phillies as anything other than a World Series team.

Ron Darling’s (TBS) take: “The Phillies are the elite. They throw two Roys, in Oswalt and Halladay, and Hamels and Lee, and I don’t know how you get any better than that. The only thing that could thwart them is any kind of injuries.”

ATLANTA BRAVES

2010 Record: 91-71; second place, National League East (lost to Giants in Division Series)

Season preview: The Braves lost a lot of talent during the offseason, but they believe the replacements they brought in – from other teams and the farm system – will be more than sufficient to make them contenders once again. Ex-Marlin Uggla gives them the right-handed power bat they lost with Lee. Righty Craig Kimbrel and lefty Jonny Venters figure to vie for the closer role vacated by the retired Wagner. International League Rookie of the Year Freddie Freeman will step in at first base. RF Jason Heyward and 3B Chipper Jones are once again healthy and should be productive. And the rotation – Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson – is formidable. Question marks are in center field/leadoff, where Nate McLouth is coming off a miserable .190 2010 campaign, and the bench, which was emptied by trades. The Phillies are the overwhelming favorites in the NL East, but the Braves could make a run at the Wild Card berth.

Ron Darling’s (TBS) take: “They’re going to have a great lineup; they’re going to score a lot more runs than they did last year, and they’ve always had that sturdy starting pitching. So Fredi Gonzalez … inherited a lot in Atlanta.”

Season preview: The Marlins sought to shore up some deficiencies this offseason, chief among them defense, which has ranked at or near the bottom of the league the past few years. Toward that end, Uggla – no one’s idea of a modern-day Bill Mazeroski – was traded, replaced by the more defensively-adept Infante, and the solid Buck was brought in to catch. However, LF Logan Morrison and CF Chris Coghlan are playing out of position, so the team’s efforts may prove to be a wash. Vazquez solidifies a crack rotation that also includes Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, Anibal Sanchez and Chris Volstad. Choate, Richardson, Webb, Dunn and Mujica bolster a bullpen that blew 25 saves last year. As for the offense, its fortunes ride on SS Hanley Ramirez, but who replaces Uggla’s power (OF Mike Stanton?) remains to be seen. The Marlins have the modest hope of establishing the young talent that will lead them into their new stadium in 2012, so another third place finish seems realistic.

Ron Darling’s (TBS) take: “If their young pitching is as good as it usually is, Florida … has gotten better.”

Season preview: First the bad news: The team that seemingly has been playing under a black cloud since 2006 did little to improve the on-field product this winter, and now has major financial concerns (Madoff lawsuit). The good news: The Mets have a plan, starting with the hiring of crafty GM Sandy Alderson and the fiery Collins to breathe life into a team with motivational issues. OF Carlos Beltran, SS Jose Reyes, SP Oliver Perez and 2B Luis Castillo are in contract years, so the Mets may benefit from the added incentive. Capuano and Young, if healthy, will join Mike Pelfrey, R.A. Dickey and Jon Niese to fill out a rotation that will be missing ace Johan Santana for the season’s first two months. The offense – Beltran, Reyes, 3B David Wright, 1B Ike Davis and OF Angel Pagan – can be very good, especially if OF Jason Bay rebounds from a disappointing 2010, but the bullpen has more questions than answers. Too many ifs make this team destined for a fourth or last place finish.

Ron Darling’s (TBS) take: “If you look at their lineup, you say to yourself, ‘How does this team not win more?’ Last year, they pitched great and didn’t hit so well. This year, I think they’re really going to hit well and (the key) is going to be whether the pitching can hold up their end of the bargain.”

Season preview: After a surprising 10-game improvement in 2010, the Nationals had an underwhelming offseason in which they failed to achieve their goals of acquiring a cleanup hitter and a top-of-the-rotation starter. Werth, more a doubles hitter with home-run power, was signed to be the former, but the cost – $126 million over seven years – may clog up this team’s payroll for years. LaRoche has 20-25 homer power, as does Ankiel, but that’s far from the 40-45 HRs that the departed Dunn produced, and the team traded away another legitimate home-run bat in Willingham. As for pitching, Gorzelanny is no one’s idea of a staff ace, although youngsters Steven Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman have top-of-the-rotation stuff, but are coming off Tommy John surgery. The middle of the order, with Werth, LaRoche, Ankiel and 3B Ryan Zimmerman, is improved, but the bullpen situation remains unsettled. The Nats will vie with the Mets for fourth place in 2011.

Ron Darling’s (TBS) take: “The Nationals have really improved. (The key) is going to be whether Jordan Zimmerman and Strasburg come back and how healthy they are.”